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Posts tagged ‘problems’

“In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness for God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.” ~ Matthew 6:14, The Message

I was outside cutting grass after all the rain and had to rake up the grass clippings because it had been a while since I had cut my grass. My goal was to have all my grass cut the same length, because I can’t stand to have a piece not uniform with the rest. Even though I was enjoying raking my little piles up, I started to get irritated at the grass in areas. In some places in the yard, raking produced areas that I thought were cut but actually were not. Well, I went back over these areas with the lawnmower to cut them down, but when I raked again I realized that there was another piece that needed to be cut! I finally put the lawnmower blade down one level and went back over the whole spot. I was frustrated by all the extra time I had spent on it, but I got it taken care of eventually!!

As I worked on my yard, it occurred to me that we have areas in our lives that we think are okay until we examine them closely and find uneven places that need some trimming. I could have left my yard alone, and it would have been a job well done for most people. If I had not raked up the waste left in my yard, I would never have found the areas of grass that escaped the trim. If we never examine ourselves a little closer than usual, we will overlook the little things that escape the first pass of prayer or repentance. Our spiritual landscape may pass for a while, but that one piece that we overlooked will eventually grow and raise its ugly head above all the other areas of our lives if we don’t take the time to properly eliminate it in the first place.

How often have we thought something in our life was taken care of only to find it surfacing later on down the road? It is the little things that we think we have taken care of that will sneak in and cause us not to walk with God the way that you should or experience the fullness of what He has for you.

So rake through, and let your spirit show you that little twig of grass that needs to be dealt with. Whatever it represents, put your spiritual mower on it and get it out of your life so it doesn’t cause you problems on down the road!